20 May 2009
SLUG PELLETS
I’ve done something radical and different to anything I’ve done before in my gardening life – used slug pellets. I’m not pleased or proud, but at least I am maintaining my honesty. It must be stressed that the ones I have scattered sparingly on Bed 4 of the demo garden at Orchard Park Garden Centre in Gillingham are certified organic and completely species specific. That means they only harm slugs and nothing else if used as recommended.
They’re a new development which should be welcomed I think. In the real world many, many people employ them without a second thought. Mrs Nails is not one of them but even she has a sprinkling of Growing Success Advanced Slug Killer around her delphiniums. Mine are Bayer Garden Slug Bait. These are not the same as the old style pellets which even today are widely available; the ones that contain poisons which can enter the food chain adversely. The modern ones contain ferric (iron) phosphate which actually degrades into soil enriching elements. Amazing!
I’ve been compromised due, I think, to the nature of the soil in Gill – horrifically heavy clay which provides plenty of nooks and crannies for molluscs – and the environment there which offers precious little in the way of predatory species. Thus, since the weekend I’ve lost ten foot rows of mangold wurzels and Red Salad Bowl lettuces, as well as copper leaved Delicato lettuces and most of the mizuna. Before that ten foot of Lobjoits Green Cos lettuces were taken out shortly after planting.
The demo garden at Orchard Park is just that; a place where we show folk how to grow their own food. So, after much soul searching and discussion with others about the rights and wrongs of using poisons I decided to be realistic and do what (hopefully) has to be done to achieve success. I’ll keep you posted…
Copyright, Dirty Nails
Tags: demo gardens, lettuce, mangold wurzels, mizuna, orchard park, slug pellets